Pelletier Falls to Guillotine: France's New Execution Machine
Nicolas Jacques Pelletier became the first person executed by guillotine in France on April 25, 1792, at the Place de Greve in Paris. The device had been designed by Dr. Antoine Louis and built by tobias Schmidt, a German harpsichord maker, at the recommendation of Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who advocated for a humane method of execution available to all classes. Previously, commoners were hanged while nobles were beheaded by sword, a process that often required multiple strokes. The guillotine was intended as an enlightened reform. It became the symbol of the Terror: between 1793 and 1794, an estimated 16,594 people were guillotined across France. France continued using the guillotine for capital punishment until 1977, abolishing the death penalty entirely in 1981.
April 25, 1792
234 years ago
Key Figures & Places
guillotine
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Highwayman
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Nicolas J. Pelletier
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Highwayman
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Nicolas Jacques Pelletier
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Guillotine
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Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville - esplanade de la Libération
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Paris
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French Revolution
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Charles Henri Sanson
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La Marseillaise
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حرابة
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